Twenty Things Mokuba Knew
by Madrigal-in-training
Summary: Mokuba may not have been the clear-cut prodigy his brother was, but he was very perceptive. In between helping save the world and trying to help his brother overcome his denial, Mokuba made several observations. For one, Yugi would make an excellent brother-in-law. Yugi Moto/Seto Kaiba One-shot For the idiots: SLASH


The Twenty Things Mokuba Knew

1. Mokuba knew a lot of things that he did not tell his big brother, Seto, about. For one, he remembered the night when their parents dropped them off at an orphanage. He may have been young, but Mokuba could recall that frigid night easily in his mind. It was also his earliest memory of Seto; as the cold droplets splattered against the pavement, Seto covered him with their sole blanket and they waited the half hour until the orphanage would open for the day. His big brother's body had shivered and his teeth had chattered, but not once had he removed the blanket from above Mokuba's head. This, more than anything else, more than the late night snacks or the help with orphanage chores, had cemented in Mokuba's young mind that Seto was the closest thing he would ever have- and ever need- for a father.

2. Mokuba knew that Seto had cried in bed for their first few nights at the orphanage. His snuffles could be heard across the room, and Seto always had red eyes. But his brother refused to speak about it, and Mokuba knew that if Seto did not want to talk about something, nothing could convince him to do it. After Seto had stopped one kid from bullying Mokuba, the small boy had noticed that his big brother's pillow was no longer damp in the morning.

3. Mokuba knew that his brother was ridiculously brilliant. Everything had come so naturally to Seto: school, chess, dueling, business, programming, martial arts, and on and on… His brother knew that, and he also knew that Mokuba was proud of him, beyond belief. What Seto did not know, was that Mokuba was also a little jealous, and even though he wasn't proud of it, he felt a little happy that his big brother had no idea whatsoever in how to court his crush- or the fact that he even had a crush.

4. Mokuba knew that Seto was obsessed with Yugi Moto. Why else would a multimillionaire genius attend Yugi's high school when he was more than capable of graduating and getting his degree? At the beginning, Mokuba had attributed that interest to Yugi's dancer friend, Tea. But it was not the brown-haired girl that Seto repeatedly harassed. Mokuba knew better than to interpret that obsession as romantic interest at first; his brother _was_ Seto Kaiba after all. He did not even know if Seto knew how to be attracted to someone, or have that attraction settle into affection, or even love. Even at the young age of ten, Mokuba knew that his brother had been scarred by their childhood.

5. Mokuba knew that his big brother was secretly proud of Yugi every time the short, spiky-haired teen beat him in a duel. He knew that Seto himself probably didn't realize this. His brother loved dueling and was the best at the sport. Seto loved the fact that Yugi could provide for him a challenge unlike anyone else, and better yet, look adorable while doing so. Mokuba secretly wondered if Yugi's grandfather was aware of this too; the old man certainly seemed far more suspicious of Seto than was warranted. Granted, Seto_ had_ destroyed his rare blue eyed, white dragon card, but even then… Yugi's grandfather probably disliked his brother because Seto was a hormonal teenager, unnatural brilliance be damned.

6. Mokuba knew that his brother would rescue him from Pegasus. He _knew that_. What he also knew was that Seto would have help in the form of Yugi and his friends, whether he liked it or not (and as he was still in denial of the fact that he liked Yugi, it was probably 'not'). Yugi was just that kind of person: trust-worthy, brave, and kind-hearted.

Incidentally, Mokuba also knew that the helicopter Seto controlled could travel _much_ faster than the speed which his big brother used when they escaped Pegasus' Island. He wondered if their slowness was due to the fact that Yugi had sat with Seto in the cockpit for the entire ride.

7. Mokuba knew that he hadn't been Seto's first choice for the princess in Seto's virtual world dueling game. After the company trust holders had tried to get rid of Seto by trapping him in the virtual world, Mokuba had gone to Yugi's home to beg for help. When they had come across the princess who had looked just like him, Mokuba had been both annoyed and relieved. It was better that he suffered a few minutes of Joey's teasing then the group figuring out whom Princess 1.0 had been modeled after. He thought that Yugi might have been a little flattered to be Seto's first inspiration, but it was probably better not to test it. Mokuba knew that Yugi still thought Seto's sole redeeming feature was that he was such a good brother to Mokuba. The small boy rather hoped to change Yugi's mind; after all, how could Yugi ever return his big brother's (in denial) affections if he thought that Seto was a cold, capricious, cruel mastermind?

The fact that it was probably true was entirely beside the point.

8. When Seto later yelled at Mokuba for going to Yugi and his friends, Mokuba knew that it would be in his best interest not to mention that he found Yugi's address in a file dedicated to the spiky-haired duelist on Seto's computer. His poor brother still suffered under the delusion that Mokuba didn't know his password. It was rather simple: Dark Magician.

9. Mokuba knew that Seto was taking a step in the right direction when he authorized Mokuba to set up a prime dueling location for Yugi's duel against his grandfather's friend's granddaughter. Not only were these sites booked weeks in advance, they cost several hundred dollars apiece. Naturally, Yugi secured one for free with only twenty minute's notice, although Mokuba felt that Seto secured his payment by secretly videotaping the entire duel and watching it several times over the next few weeks. Mokuba briefly thought that this might fall under the banner of stalking, but his big brother was almost to the point of breaking out of his denial, and Mokuba certainly wouldn't be the one to get in the way of progress. Besides, after finding the detailed file on practically Yugi's entire life, he felt that this was rather tame.

10. Mokuba knew that Yugi's friends had discovered Kaiba's not-quite-out-of-denial obsession for the spiky-haired duelist, and after a few tense moments ("Let me at 'im! Let me at 'im! I'm quite to kick that bastard's ass from here to Pegasus' Island for this!" ~Joey) had come around to the idea. They had even placed a few bets on when the two might get together. He knew this because he was the one who started the betting pool.

11. Mokuba knew that Seto was disturbed by the news that museum lady gave him when he received his Egyptian God Card. He never knew the exact details of what Seto was told, but he did know that it involved, in some way, somehow, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. Mokuba hoped that his brother didn't do anything stupid with that knowledge.

12. Mokuba knew that a large part of the reason why Seto created his duelist tournament was to see Yugi again. Since phone calls or normal dates were apparently out of the equation, Seto had to create a large-scale tournament complete with placing a GPA tracker on the object of his affection. Personally printing and mailing Yugi's duelist invitation was possibly the most romantic thing Seto had ever done, so Mokuba was willing to let this unhealthy stalker behavior slide.

13. Mokuba knew that Seto had more faith in Yugi than anyone else. He knew this because even when Yugi's friends doubted that he could defeat Exodia or Silfer the Sky Dragon or Marik, Seto never raised a hand to help Yugi battle. His brother always knew that Yugi could win, because when the spiky-haired duelist did win, his smile was more smug than relieved.

14. Mokuba knew that he couldn't let Esper Roba continue cheating in his duel against Joey. For one, it was wrong. And more importantly, Yugi was watching the duel and Mokuba couldn't allow him to see that the Kaiba brothers allowed cheating! It was bad enough that Seto refused to acknowledge his vast array of psychological problems; there was no need to let Yugi form an even worse impression of his brother. There was plenty of time after the wedding to teach him about that.

15. Mokuba knew that Seto was always pleased when he was in a challenging duel, especially against Yugi. For one, his brother's eyes would light up and for another; he would use those brilliant dueling strategies that he spent several agonizing hours developing in the past. Those dueling strategies always seemed to come up against Yugi, and when the other boy smiled at a brilliant move or a clever tactic, than Seto was secretly smiling too.

16. Mokuba knew that it would be hard to pair Yugi and Seto up after that fiasco with Marik. Seto had finally acknowledged that Yugi wasn't naiveté personified, and even appeared to respect him somewhat. Unfortunately, his big brother was perfectly willing to ignore his interest in the smaller boy and simply live his life without antagonizing Yugi on a daily basis. Luckily for the two involved, Mokuba wasn't so willing to give up, and took every opportunity possible to invite Yugi over for the most ridiculous of reasons. He knew that his plan was working when he left for a three hour water break, and came back to see Yugi and Seto in an amiable conversation. Well, they were really arguing, but Seto hadn't threatened Yugi yet, and Mokuba counted that as legitimate progress.

17. Mokuba knew the exact day when Seto first kissed Yugi. The silly grin on his brother's face pretty much confirmed that.

18. Mokuba knew that Yugi's grandfather would never like Seto. Admittedly, he had never really expected Seto's future in-laws to approve of him, even if he _was_ a handsome and wealthy genius. It was a mark of just how irritating Seto could be that even the prospect of a rich grandson-in-law didn't sway Yugi's grandfather. For that matter, neither did the large batch of rare and exclusive dueling cards that Mokuba had bullied Seto into donating to the shop.

Of course, Yugi's grandfather _did_ like Mokuba, so family reunions wouldn't be that awkward.

19. Mokuba knew that Yugi found Seto's cold and arrogant face to be hilarious. The smaller boy was just glad that he wasn't the only one anymore.

20. Mokuba knew that he had left Seto in good hands when he came back from college one day and found Yugi dragging his older brother away from his work. Seto had been loudly protesting before Yugi slammed the door to their room shut and everything suddenly became rather quiet. Mokuba decided that he should probably leave the apartment for a few hours.


End file.
